While We're Waiting
by MATT SUNSTON
Summary: Be advised, big huge Spirit of Justice spoilers herein. Post-Spirit of Justice Justicykes nonsense, but to avoid spoilers in the summary, that's all I'm telling you.
1. Wake

Apollo sat on the edge of his seat. The anticipation in the room was incredible.

Countless scores of people were seated all around him, but as far as his attention was concerned, they didn't exist. Beyond the sound of their breath as they shared stunned gasps and whispered remarks of amazement, Apollo's senses barely acknowledged them. Only one thing was real in his world for the moment.

Some short distance ahead, a wide stage expertly lit with lights and lamps drew the undivided focus of every last audience member present.

"I'm sure you all remember the big finisher I promised back at the start of the show." rang Trucy's voice across the room, filled with confidence and joy and aided by the speakers mounted all around the room's high walls. "You'll be happy to hear that everything is all ready!"

Excited voices sprung up from too many sections of the crowd to count.

Trucy cast a look across the stage. "... We _are_ ready, aren't we, Mr. Hat?"

"That we are, Miss Trucy," squawked the voice of the tall puppet on the opposite end of the stage from her, supported in the air by near-invisible wires, "But, er... This last trick still seems... well, more than a little hazardous, don't you think?"

Trucy giggled in a way that Apollo was certain could capture the hearts of even the most jaded watchers in the room. "Oh, you don't need to be worried about me." she said.

"It's not _you_ I'm worried for..." was Mr. Hat's reply. The puppet sighed. "... Alright, but I'm getting paid extra for this!"

With a flourish of his cape, the puppet twirled in place and produced a thick, wooden torch. The torch barely had time to reach the extent of the puppet's arm before its end erupted in flames, lighting the entire half of the stage in a dancing orange haze.

"On three, then?" Trucy inquired from her end of the stage.

"I'd prefer sooner!" Mr. Hat called back, his arm supporting the blazing torch jittering uncomfortably.

A great rattling sound echoed from between the pair as a large structure emerged from behind a curtain, rolling into place at centre stage. Mounted on its top were three large hoops, arranged in an arc. Just after the third was an enormous wooden box, with its top eased open. Mr. Hat suddenly rushed across the stage, and as his torch swung past the three hoops, they caught fire, brightening the stage yet further.

 _"Ack-!"_ the puppet screeched once he came to a stop next to Trucy. The flame of the torch was licking at his cape, and Trucy responded with an energetic twirl of her own cape. In the moment that her cape swung by both Mr. Hat and his torch, covering them for only the shortest of moments, both were extinguished instantly. "Won't be needing _this_ anymore!" the puppet said with a shrug and a tip of his hat. He tossed the spent torch over his shoulder, and it clattered down on the stage. "Now, _three,"_

"Two," both Mr. Hat and Trucy said together, Trucy taking a step back, "One!"

Trucy started forward, her cape billowing in her wake. Just a few steps before she reached the side of the structure supporting the three flaming hoops, the stretch of stage floor immediately beneath her feet sprung upward, and she leapt forward, performing a graceful dive. She passed cleanly through the first hoop, to the ecstatic cheers of the crowd, and she curled her body into a front flip as she flew through the second as well. Her descent brought her neatly through the third, and she landed on her feet before pivoting in place, taking the brief moment to blow a kiss to the crowd before letting herself drop backward and fall into the oversized wooden crate. The lid dropped shut over top of her, leaving the crate entirely closed off.

There was a moment as the crowd awaited the next surprise, and their voices exploded across the room in a gasp as the entire crate burst into flames.

Apollo couldn't tear his eyes away from the spectacle onstage, and he doubted anyone else around him could do any better.

Suddenly, a scream burst into the air. Apollo flinched, turning to search for its source. He realized almost immediately that it had come from the speakers mounted all around the room, and his excitement instantly turned to horror.

As if the entire occupancy of the crowded theatre had ceased to exist all at once, Apollo rose from his seat and tore across the aisle to reach the stairs leading down to the floor just before the stage, his movements automatic.

Trucy's horrific scream continued, tearing at his ears with every second that passed. On the way to the stage, he skidded to a stop next to a mounted case for a fire extinguisher. Without hesitation, he drove his elbow into the protective glass.

An alarm sounded, and water was suddenly pouring onto the stage from above. The sound of Trucy's scream was drowned out as the entire audience broke into a panic as well. Ignoring the sharp pain in his elbow, Apollo wrenched the heavy fire extinguisher free of its case and turned to resume sprinting for the stage. The horrible sight of the crate ablaze was blocked from his view for a moment as he climbed the short stairs onto the stage, but what he saw once it came back into view stopped him dead in his tracks.

The crate was no longer on fire, nor were the three hoops. Not a trace of flame could be seen anywhere on the stage, but the crate itself was charred black, like it had been burning for an hour.

 _"T-Trucy-!"_ Apollo cried out, his voice coming out hoarse. He threw aside the fire extinguisher and rushed toward the blackened box. He took barely one step, and the bright lights covering the stage suddenly went out. The area was plunged into darkness, and the roaring voices of the crowd in chaos turned to utter silence just as fast. Apollo came to a stop, his last three footsteps producing an echo in the darkness and silence. "... Trucy...?" he called again, this time unable to get his voice louder than a whisper.

For the first few seconds, only silence answered him. He waited.

"Apollo." a voice suddenly broke out from behind him. He whirled around.

There, standing at the edge of the stage, was a solitary figure. A soft light was filtering in from somewhere Apollo couldn't pinpoint, casting just enough light to partially illuminate the unknown figure.

They stepped forward. "Apollo," came the voice again, soft and calm, "Don't worry."

Apollo watched and his eyes softened at the sight of Athena, her steps bringing her further into the light. "A-Athena," he said, still coming off of his rush of adrenaline and desperate for some idea of what was happening, "Is Trucy-"

"Trucy's fine." Athena said with a gentle smile. She approached, the light dancing off her lengthy red hair, which she wore differently than usual, brushed out straight with part of its great length draped over her left shoulder. "Like I said, don't worry."

Athena was a single step away when Apollo surged forward, pulling her into a hug. She didn't flinch or otherwise attempt to stop him, just bringing her hands up to his back to return the embrace. The reassurance that Athena's presence gave him was incredible.

Apollo was beginning to relax, still tightly clinging to Athena, and he opened his mouth to speak.

Before he could get a word out, a deafening _bang_ split the air. Apollo felt Athena jerk in place in his grip, and he instantly thought back to the awful moment back in Khura'in's grand Hall of Justice, when a gunshot rang out as the former queen was shot in the back just to keep her silent.

He heard a sharp intake of breath escape Athena's mouth, and she slumped, her arms dropping from his back. His eyes shot open wide.

* * *

Before he could do anything, he was suddenly falling as well. He grunted in pain when his shoulder hit the floor.

Without so much as a thought, he gasped, "A- _Athena-!"_

The sound of a whooping laugh was hardly what he expected to hear in reply. He blinked, and light filled his vision, unclear images swimming into focus.

He was lying next to his desk chair, on the creaking wooden floor of his office. He pushed off of the floor, and he spotted the source of the ongoing laughter he heard, which bordered on hysterical.

"Datz."

Datz Are'bal was standing in the small office's doorway, tears on his face as he went on laughing as loudly as ever, hunching over a bit.

"Ahah-! Hope you had a good nap, AJ!" the tall man gasped through his unending peals of laughter. The remains of a firecracker fizzled on the office floor next to him, spelling out what had just happened to amuse him so much. "That big mark across your cheek is givin' me some mixed messages!"

Apollo sat up, glancing at the mirror he'd mounted on the wall not too long ago. Just as Datz said, there was a dark red mark across his face. He'd fallen asleep at his desk again, and this time he must have landed his face on his resting arm. He sighed, getting to his feet.

"Had a... bit of a bad dream." he mumbled, dusting his suit off. Keeping it clean was much harder here than it was back home in LA.

 _Home_. He supposed that, to him, LA _was_ still the place he called home. More of his life had been spent there than in Khura'in, after all.

Datz interrupted his train of thought by hopping up to take a seat on the edge of his desk. Seemingly from nowhere, he produced both an apple and a fruit knife, beginning to precisely slice the apple's peel off.

"Athena." he said, drawing Apollo's attention. "That was what you said when you hit the floor. If I remember right, that was the pretty redhead you ran around with for a while after you first got out here."

"Yeah." Apollo confirmed. "She was... in my dream, is all."

Datz halted, his knife still wedged in beneath the apple's peel. He looked up. "Uh huh? How's she doing back in the States?"

"Um..." Apollo suddenly felt a touch ashamed. It had been weeks since he'd last spoken to anyone back home. He missed them all terribly, for sure, but he'd been so busy recently that he'd neglected to keep his usual contact. His recent run of work had actually come to an end the previous day, however, which left his list of excuses for remaining out of contact a bit short. "Last I checked, she was fine."

"Hmm." was the only reply Datz gave for a few seconds. In the interim, he cleanly sliced the last of his apple's peel away, letting it drop to the floor. Apollo frowned, gesturing toward it. Datz took a moment to get the message. "Oh. Sorry, AJ." he said, dropping to pick it back up and fling it across the room toward the trash can. He made the shot perfectly, and after glancing at Apollo with a grin, as if expecting praise, he took a large bite from the apple.

"So... you need something, Datz?" Apollo asked.

"Hmm...?" Datz mumbled, swallowing his first bite. "Ah- Thanks for the reminder. Almost forgot what I was here for."

Apollo sat back down in his chair as Datz continued.

"So, I've been talkin' around, AJ. People really appreciate everything you've been doing ever since you took over your old man's office. I'll betcha Dhurke's proud of ya, too. Still, I wanted to tell ya that you don't want to push yourself too hard. We fought long and hard for our revolution, and now that it's officially safe to take a break once in a while, I think you _should."_

Apollo nodded, casting a look at the overstuffed drawer resting next to his desk. It was filled beyond capacity with all manner of records related to the disproportionate number of cases he'd been involved with ever since Khura'in's long civil conflict had finally come to an end. With Ga'ran Sigatar Khura'in deposed, the country's legal system could at last begin the long process of reformation, and Apollo had been exceedingly busy with work ever since, as the only defence attorney practicing at the time of the revolution's victory.

Yet even today, with his backlog of cases finally cleared up for the time being, Apollo had still forced himself out of bed and returned to his office as usual. Perhaps he'd overestimated his stamina, considering that he'd apparently fallen asleep at his desk.

"It's not just me, either." Datz continued, now halfway finished with his apple. "Yuty, that detective friend of yours he keeps flying in - even Rayfa. Don't tell her I said that."

Apollo chuckled, imagining how the crown princess might respond to that kind of information.

"Bottom line, my mission today is to take over here for you for the rest of the day." Datz said after finishing off his apple and lobbing the core across the room as well. "If even Rayfa's getting worried about ol' Horn Head, it must be serious."

"Uhh..." Apollo glanced to and fro across his desk. Part of his mind was reaching for some excuse to continue working, but judging by the look Datz had on his face, as well as his tone of voice, he got the impression that he wasn't really being allowed a choice in this matter. He _was_ still feeling tired...

He sighed. "... Thanks, Datz. I guess I'll just... I dunno, pack up and head home."

Datz was already working off the peel of a second apple, leaving Apollo to wonder where on earth he'd been storing it. "You do whatever you want, AJ," he said idly, "I'll be holding down the fort here."

* * *

Apollo took somewhere around ten minutes to finish sorting away his things and exit the office.

Three months ago, when he'd first decided to stay behind in Khura'in while his friends returned to LA, he'd been a bit slow to realize that that meant leaving all his many various belongings behind overseas. Fortunately, getting wind of this, Queen Amara had arranged for an especially eager Royal Guardsman to travel to America for himself and collect everything Apollo would need. He remembered his shock when the guard in question arrived at his still-derelict office unannounced, with an entire truck loaded down with his many belongings. Even his cat had made the journey in relatively good spirits.

That said, finding the best way to arrange his belongings became a touch more interesting once he'd found himself settled down in his own personal residence within the royal palace on Amara's insistence. His large and lavish bedroom alone was bigger than his entire office, so he'd been forced to spread his possessions rather thin.

Even after all this time, he didn't quite feel at home as he entered the palace alone, eagerly saluted by the guards positioned at the gate.

He hastily made his way to his residence and set his backpack on the floor to empty it out. Two folders of case files and his laptop were brought to his desk. He was in the middle of setting the computer up when his eyes fell on a single sheet of paper taped to the desk's upper shelf.

A letter. He'd received it at the beginning of the week. He'd skimmed through it, but at the time, his work had been keeping him so busy that he couldn't spare much time to really read through it.

(Well, no excuses now.)

He pulled it from its place as his laptop booted back up. He dropped into his chair.

* * *

"Hey, Apollo!" read the top of the page in handwriting he recognized as Athena's. Next to that spot was another addition: "Hi, Polly!"

"I would've just sent this as an email, but you know how Mr. Wright is...

We're all glad that you're doing well. I'm running off my feet covering for you here, so I'm glad that you're keeping busy, too. I just had a case the other day - it was at the aquarium again! Sorry you had to miss going there twice. They hired a new guy, Ripley Poole, a while ago, and he was arrested for killing this other guy who used to hang around the aquarium a lot, because the police found some of his equipment at the scene. Sasha asked me to defend him. Turns out that another guy, Dusty Pitt, was the real killer. He tried to get the same job that Ripley applied for at the aquarium, because he wanted to ask Sasha out, but they hired Ripley instead. Pretty petty motive, considering the kind of stuff we usually deal with.

But get this - I solved it all by myself! Trucy wanted to help, but she's so busy with her shows, and Mr. Wright wanted to let me take it on by myself, so I did my best, and I did it! Simon was prosecuting. He tried acting all dismissive and mean about it, but I know he's really a big dumb teddy bear inside. You should really stop being so nervous around him once you come home.

But back to Trucy, she's really hitting it big! I'm so proud of her! It's like having the world's most talented little sister. She's been trying to rope Bonny into joining more of her shows, but Betty's still trying to pretend she doesn't want to.

Anyway, this page is running out of space. This is why Trucy needs to educate her dad on computers.

We all miss you, Apollo. I know you're busy, but we'd all love it if you got in touch more often. We can't wait to hear from you again, and you'd better make sure you tell us all the minute you know how soon you can come home!

Love, Athena."

Beneath Athena's last line was another added scribble: "Lots of hugs, Trucy."

* * *

Apollo smiled, looking the letter over again. He imagined how Athena might sound reading it to him, and he felt a sudden stab of strange discomfort. He remembered how his dream had been cut short, and his smile turned to an uncertain frown.

His computer was awaiting its password. He logged in and immediately brought up a chat program he didn't normally get too much use out of. He had a sudden desire to respond to the letter immediately, but he was feeling much too impatient to wait for the mail.

* * *

 _Of all the things Spirit of Justice might have inspired in me, I didn't expect Justicykes. This hit me so hard that it's actually causing me difficulty with focusing on the next chapter of my Apollo multi-ship series. I'll do my best to keep up there, for those reading._

 _This probably won't run more than a few chapters, so no big deal._


	2. Catch-Up Day

Once upon a time, a slow day at work would have been something Athena dreaded. These days, she felt differently. The increase her workload had seen with the departure of one third of the Wright Anything Agency's lawyering force was something to be feared.

To her delight, this morning was shaping up to be a very slow day. Unless someone suddenly came bursting through the door begging for a defence lawyer, Athena suspected that she would be enjoying a calm and relatively stress-free shift.

At the moment, she was seated on the couch with Widget's projected display hovering before her. She'd taken a few minutes to organize her digital copies of the paperwork relating to her most recent case, and with that done, she was free to dig into other work as she saw fit.

Phoenix was absent from the room, a faint sound of splashing audible from the bathroom, where he was taking advantage of the morning's calm to scrub out the toilet.

Trucy was, as she always seemed to be, practicing away at her smaller-scale magic tricks. Athena kept hearing sudden bursts of noise from behind her, where Trucy was presently doing _something_ with a deck of cards and a spare top hat.

Tapping a fingertip to her chin as she looked over Widget's display, Athena hummed peacefully with a little smile on her face. Suddenly, her attention was abruptly drawn to a flashing notification in the corner of the display.

"Ooh-!" she uttered, her free hand clamping to her mouth.

"Hmm?" Trucy stopped what she was doing and approached. "What's going on?"

"I-It's Apollo!" Athena said brightly. The message lighting up her screen told her that she was receiving a video chat request from her overseas co-worker. "Hey, boss!" she called in the direction of the bathroom.

Phoenix stuck his head out of the door. "Yeah?"

"C'mere, quick, Daddy!" Trucy answered before Athena could. "Polly's calling!"

"Oh-!"

A clattering of something hitting the bathroom floor sounded, and Phoenix could be heard fumbling with it for a few seconds longer. In the meantime, Athena tapped a finger to the message indicating Apollo's incoming call. A yes-or-no prompt appeared, and Athena accepted the call.

"Apollo!" she greeted with a wide grin when a familiar face appeared, taking up most of the display's frame. Trucy leaned in close over Athena's shoulder.

"Polly!"

"Hey, you guys." Apollo replied, smiling as well.

Athena was momentarily silent, just taking in the sight of her friend and co-worker. Apollo looked different from the last time she'd seen him, somehow. She couldn't quite pin it down.

"How're you doing?" she asked. Phoenix was finally returning from the bathroom, heading for the space next to Trucy behind the couch.

"I'm... great. Doing just fine." Apollo answered. "I guess it's morning back home, huh?"

"Yep!" Athena said with a nod. "Widget says... just past ten. Don't tell me... It's just about the evening in Khura'in?"

"Getting there, yeah." Apollo confirmed. "It's funny - I actually almost called you earlier, right when I left work. I only remembered the time difference with about two seconds to spare. Oh-... Hey, Mr. Wright!"

"Good to see you, Apollo." Phoenix said. "Anything to report from the Justice Law Offices?"

Athena beamed. There was a definite note of pride she picked up from Phoenix's voice, and she felt just the same.

Apollo laughed. "Things are still pretty crazy here." he said. "Defence lawyers are still in pretty short supply, so I'm everyone's go-to guy, as always."

"Well, by the sound of it, once you come home, Athena and I just might have to start calling _you_ 'Boss', instead. Once you're done with everything the Hall of Justice has lined up for you, I'll bet you will have taken on more cases than the two of us put together."

Apollo laughed again, bringing a hand up to sheepishly scratch at the top of his head, as he often did when embarrassed. "Aww, c'mon, Mr. Wright - you're giving me too much credit."

Phoenix just shrugged, smiling. "Well, think what you want, Apollo, but there's no denying you've come a long way from the rookie who punched me in the mouth the day we met."

"Aha... yeah." Apollo replied, his voice dropping to a mumble. "Hey, just to check - you aren't gonna mention that if I ever need to find a new job and I list you as a reference, are you...?"

A round of giggles sounded from the two girls, while Phoenix just chuckled. "I wouldn't worry, Apollo. I think I can let that slip through the cracks of an otherwise glowing recommendation."

"Heh… I appreciate that."

"Although," Phoenix went on, "I hope your saying that doesn't mean that you're considering looking into any new jobs…"

"Whoa, hey-" Apollo interjected, worrying that Phoenix had misinterpreted his meaning, "No way. I'm still coming home as soon as I can. You guys…" He faltered. The group crowding Athena's projected screen watched as he hung his head a bit and sighed. "… You guys are as much my family as anyone here - maybe even more."

Athena felt something stirring in her chest at the sound of Apollo's voice; a warmth that crawled its way through her body, seeming to latch onto her very being. She felt certain that her face was tinting red at least a little, and she was grateful a moment later when Trucy piped up.

"That's great to hear." the magician replied, leaning further onto the back of the couch. "I don't think poor Athena can keep going much longer covering all your posts."

"You _were_ always the one doing the 'Anything' in 'Wright Anything Agency', after all." Phoenix remarked. Apollo gave a laugh in response.

There was a moment's pause before Trucy spoke up again. Her voice came out softer this time. "… I miss you, Polly." she said, a slight edge of sadness betraying her tone.

"We all do." Athena added, Phoenix nodding in agreement behind her.

"Yeah," Apollo replied, dropping his gaze again, a thin smile tugging at his lips, "I miss you guys, too. It's great to talk to all of you again. And to _see_ you, especially."

" _Same!"_ Widget chirped, the sudden noise causing Athena to jolt in place and the screen displaying Apollo's face to shudder.

Trucy giggled. "I know you're busy, Polly, but don't be such a stranger from now on, OK? You must have time to talk every so often, right?"

"Well, it's a bit of a stretch a lot of the time, because of the time difference," Apollo answered, "So unless you want me to start waking you up in the middle of the night, there's only so much time I can work with."

"Right now's always good, unless Daddy or Athena has a trial first thing." Trucy said with a smile. "Deal?"

Apollo grinned to match. "Deal."

* * *

Their conversation continued for a while yet as they traded stories about recent events in their respective environments, and with Trucy frequently dominating the conversation, Athena took advantage of her common silences to reflect.

It was hard to believe that Apollo had already been away for three months. Things had become quite hectic in her workplace since the resolution of their affairs in Khura'in, but it still felt to her like far less time had passed.

Apollo's absence caused a definite change in the mood of their office. Aside from the rebalancing of her part in the office's shared workload, Athena felt very different coming into work each day. She and Apollo had most often been a team ever since she joined the Agency, and for all the efforts she made to cover his end of the work in her cases, she wondered whether she was really giving it her all without Apollo around. She knew, of course, that everyone felt the same sense of something missing following Apollo's departure, but she worried about whether it was affecting her work ethic.

She'd been tuning out the conversation for about a minute, and looked up at Apollo again. He was still chatting idly with Trucy, apparently not noticing as Athena zoned out. She waited for a chance to interject.

"Hey, Apollo," she said when she spotted her opportunity, "How much do you get to get out of the office to investigate when you're on a case?"

The question seemed random, but Athena had a particular reason to ask it.

"Legwork, huh?" Apollo replied. "That depends, just like at home. Sometimes, if I can't get much info right off the bat, I need to go out and sweep over the whole crime scene myself. It's great whenever Nahyuta has Ema stay here for a while, since she can help me out whether she's officially on the case or not. Provided she's not busy with something else, anyway."

"Y'know," Athena said, pausing Apollo's reply long enough to take in the details of his words, "I almost get the impression there's something going on between them."

"… Who? You mean Nahyuta and Ema?" Apollo asked, looking surprised.

"Yeah." Athena answered. "Flying her halfway around the world every few weeks can't be cheap."

Apollo, still looking blindsided by her suggestion, thought it over. "… I doubt it, Athena." he said. "I mean, first off, Nahyuta's not quite the kind of guy I imagine Ema going after. Actually, it's kinda hard to imagine her going after _anyone,_ much less a guy like him. Now, if she could marry science, I'd bet she would, but I'm not sure what gives you the impression that Nahyuta's so special to her."

"Hmm…" Athena idly tapped a fingertip against her crescent earring, thinking things over. "Why don't you ask him? You're like his brother, after all, right?"

"In a way." Apollo replied. "I don't get to see him as much as you might think. He's even busier than I am. Every minute he's not on a case, he's taking care of one thing or another for Her Benevolence."

"That makes sense." Athena said, nodding. "They've got a whole country to get back on its feet. Might not leave much room for dating on the side."

Athena was getting the information she wanted. She hadn't yet asked Apollo much about the people he frequently interacted with in his work, but for one reason or another, she felt a touch uncomfortable with addressing the topic directly. She wasn't entirely certain of her own reasons, really.

"Y'know," Apollo said, "I wish I could bring you guys out here for a visit. Money wouldn't be a problem on my end, after all you guys did to help, but I couldn't pull you away from the office."

"Yeah," Trucy said wistfully, "Sorry. I wish I wasn't always so busy myself, but between my shows, practicing with Athena, and keeping the office going…"

"You'll be fine." Apollo said reassuringly. "I promise."

"… You're right." Trucy replied. "Sorry, Athena, you were saying something?"

"Oh, right…" Athena said, directing her attention back to Apollo. "So, I guess you haven't found yourself another gorgeous redhead to take on your cases with you, huh?"

Apollo glanced at her curiously, but laughed. "Can't say that I have. Kinda wish someone _would_ come around to ask for a job, honestly. I'm not in a rush to be in charge of anyone, but it'd be a big help. Maybe once more people around are qualified…"

"If someone does join up with you," Trucy spoke up, "D'you think you'd feel better about coming home?"

"You mean if I had someone I could trust to keep this office going? That'd be great." Apollo responded. "It's great to feel like I'm keeping everything Dhurke fought so hard for alive, but at the same time, I sometimes feel like it's gonna be a lot longer than I'd like before I _can_ come home."

"Well, hey, keep that chin up!" Athena said cheerfully. "The way you make things sound, I'll bet you'll have people lining up to take the job in no time!"

" _Please, people!"_

Athena flinched, clamping a hand to Widget's casing. Apollo's projected image was distorted by the shadows of her fingers, and she released her grip, frowning down at the device.

Apollo was laughing again. "You really _do_ miss me, don't you?" he asked her.

Athena didn't answer, just glaring down at Widget as her cheeks tinted slightly red.

* * *

For a short while longer, they went on talking, until Phoenix took a moment to look up at the clock opposite their position in the room.

"Whoa!" he said, startled. They'd already been talking for nearly an hour and a half.

Trucy followed his gaze and made a similar noise of surprise. "Wow-! I-It feels like you just called a few minutes ago, Polly!"

"I guess we've been pretty talkative." Apollo replied. "I ought to let you guys get back to work."

"The toilet's not gonna finish cleaning itself…" Phoenix remarked with a glance in the direction of the bathroom. "It was great talking to you again, Apollo."

"Later, Mr. Wright." Apollo said, watching him walk out of view of the screen.

"Bye, Polly!" Trucy said, settling back onto her feet. "And remember to call more often, OK?"

"Gotcha." Apollo answered her with a grin.

"Alright, 'til next time, then. _Arrivederci_ _!"_ Athena said, waving to him as she closed the chat window.

Athena smiled, resting against the back of the couch. Trucy leaned in next to her.

"Ready for another practice run?" she asked brightly. Athena's smile faltered.

* * *

Arriving home late that afternoon, Athena kicked off her boots inside her apartment and dropped her bag onto her kitchen chair.

Above all the many other things she could've been thinking about from her day at work, one thing in particular was dominating her mind's eye.

Apollo had looked a bit run down when they talked in the morning, but otherwise seemed to be doing just fine. He sounded horribly busy with all the work he had to do. Thoughts of sympathy for him hung around in her mind as she sorted away her things and prepared herself a small dinner.

She wasn't much use in a kitchen, but anything only requiring a microwave was easy enough to manage. She sat at the table, twisting a fork through a plate of heated mashed potatoes, suddenly finding herself distracted by her thoughts.

Talking to Apollo had given her mood that morning quite the boost. She'd studiously worked through everything she needed to, renewed in her motivation. Even without Apollo there to bounce her thoughts off of and brighten up the work day for her, she'd felt her worries about her work ethic drifting away. Maybe he'd call again tomorrow. She hoped so.

* * *

 _I'm surprised to have taken so long to sit down and properly work this chapter out. I've been in the middle of a move, but things are settled now, so there - optimally - won't be any more huge delays._


	3. Thoughts

For a few minutes, Apollo idly clicked around his frequented websites, trying in vain to find something to interest himself with.

He'd been enjoying his talk with everyone back home so much that he almost wished they hadn't noticed the time. Like Trucy said, the hour and a half they'd spent chatting felt like no time at all.

If anyone had told the 22 year-old Apollo Justice in his first several months at the Wright Anything Agency that he would grow to love the people there as much as the sadness he felt after his departure indicated, he would probably have thought them insane. He remembered wondering at the time if he himself really had all his mental faculties in order when, despite all the madness the job brought into his life, he felt no desire to leave.

(Ehh, it was probably just Trucy. Can't say "no" to that smile of hers.)

He closed his web browser and stared blankly at his desktop for several long seconds, unfocused. What remained of his evening felt suddenly empty. There was plenty he could do, right…?

His mind came up blank. He sighed, hopping to his feet. He crossed the spacious room and stepped out onto his balcony. The view was incredible, as always. Even at this late hour, the sounds of the people outside the palace could be heard from here. He glanced around, wondering where his cat might be hiding. She loved the freedom that the palace allowed her, though she'd needed a week or two to get used to it. As there was no sign of her at the moment, Apollo assumed her to be off exploring.

This was hardly the first time Apollo had come out here to admire the view on a quiet evening. Somehow, though, this time didn't feel as relaxing as he liked. He held on for a minute or two, but gave up and returned to his room all the same once the boredom became too much.

* * *

It was too early to go to bed. He didn't want to disrupt his already tenuous sleeping schedule. He needed to find himself something to do if he was going to enjoy what was left of the evening at all. He left his room, strolling down the garden pathway. He wished he could still be talking to his friends. Talking to anyone else would probably make for a passable substitute, at least. Options rolled through his mind.

Nahyuta wasn't much for small talk. Apollo chuckled to himself at the thought of how the man might react if he were to drop by his room and interrogate him about Athena's Ema-related theory, but he let the thought go.

Ever since the day his friends left Khura'in to return home, he'd always felt strange about taking in the now-familiar sights of the royal palace. As a highly-honoured guest of the royal family, he was given free rein to visit most areas of the palace, but no matter how many days he spent there, it never seemed to begin feeling like a home. Not _his_ home, at any rate. The investigation into the murder of Justice Minister Inga had hardly been the ideal circumstances under which to first come here. His memories of those two days weren't especially happy. That could easily have been the reason.

His train of thought began to wander once more. He thought back to the day he and his friends arrived in Khura'in. In spite of his near-death experience seeking the Founder's Orb with Dhurke, and the emotional turmoil he felt when he and Athena faced down their mentor in the courtroom back home, he'd been determined only to do what he could to help Dhurke with his plans to overthrow Ga'ran's corrupt leadership.

Not that it had been easy; there had been a point during the flight here, in the middle of a long group discussion, when he'd lost his composure. Until then, he'd kept the incident of his near-drowning a secret from Athena. Mr. Wright knew already, of course, but Apollo didn't feel any need to go adding names to the list of people aware of what had happened to him.

Athena was understandably concerned when he suddenly broke off mid-sentence, terrible memories of that moment in the darkness of the flooded cave suddenly forcing their way into the forefront of his mind.

* * *

"Apollo…? Hey, something wrong?"

Athena had been relaxed in her seat, listening to Apollo and Dhurke for a while now, only chiming in with the odd response every now and again, until her attention was drawn in by Apollo's sudden stop. He'd been halfway through a reply to whatever Dhurke had just said, but all of a sudden he was silent, one hand tightly gripping the armrest of his seat and a startling look in his eyes.

Leaning toward him, Athena was frightened to see him shaking in his seat, unresponsive to her words. Was he having a panic attack? She'd never known him to be susceptible to them, but the signs seemed to be there.

"Apollo." she said forcefully, placing a palm on his rigid left hand. "Apollo, look at me-"

"Athena-…" Phoenix interjected. She turned. The expression on her boss's face had never been relaxed even once today, but now it was one of total seriousness.

* * *

Apollo wasn't hearing a word of what was being said around him. He was no longer seated comfortably in the luxurious private jet Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth had chartered to fly the group to Khura'in; dark walls of damp and mossy rock were all he could see on all sides, and a horrible cold was creeping up his body, cutting deeper than any injury.

He was sinking, the helpless flailing of his limbs useless to save him. His clothes were drenched and bogging him down. His eyes stung from the seawater that was now filling his mouth, cutting him off from the air. His thoughts were slowing down, resignation to his fate setting in.

Sounds suddenly broke through his senses. He jerked violently in place and forced himself to look upright.

Rather than jagged rocks and frigid water seen through near-perfect darkness, his view was filled by a strikingly warm and familiar red. In the midst of the bright colours so reminiscent of an open flame, dark blue eyes were locked on his.

"A _-_ _…_ _Athena_ _…_ _"_

His voice sounded strange; shaky and strained. He felt a strong grip circle around his back, and his upper body bent forward into the girl's embrace.

* * *

Athena tried to force herself not to let out a sob, tightly clinging to Apollo as he crumpled in her arms. His shoulders shook, and she caved in.

How had he kept this a secret all day? He'd seemed so composed during the trial, even when things looked bad. Knowing what she did now that Mr. Wright and Dhurke had explained what Apollo had been through the day before brought out a surge of emotion in her.

She felt as if she'd been the one to drag Apollo out from a freezing pool, lifeless in her arms. It was stupid to feel the guilt suddenly building up in her chest, but she felt it all the same. What kind of friend was she, to not know what Apollo had been through? She worried about him enough without something like this to add to the pile. Was his trauma ever going to do him the courtesy of ending?

She could feel Apollo's erratic breaths against her as he clutched at her shoulders for support, and she did all she knew of to try and provide comfort to him. He was safe, nothing could hurt him here…

And yet she herself felt nearly as terrified as Apollo seemed to be.

"Oh, Apollo…" she said softly, tucking her head into the crook of his neck while she waited for his sobs to recede. If anything in this world was going to try and take her friends from her, it was going to have to go through her first.

Her eyes closed, she missed the meaningful look on Dhurke's face as he watched the two of them from his seat opposite.

* * *

Apollo was startled to find himself at the edge of the market. He turned, glancing back down the way he'd come from. How had he spaced out for that long…?

A violent and echoing _bang_ shocked any remaining calm out of him. He jumped, and a familiar laugh once again assaulted his ears.

"Always on your toes, I see, AJ!"

Apollo sighed, waiting until Datz calmed himself down again to bother with speaking.

"Everything's locked up at the office, right?" he asked when his chance came.

Datz nodded. "So tight even I couldn't break in. Not that anyone around here is gonna wanna steal from a celebrity like you, AJ."

"Great. … Well, I'm gonna head back to-"

"Aw, c'mon - at least talk with me now that I've scared the hell out of ya." Datz interjected. "I saw you were out for a stroll a minute or two ago. I wasn't gonna try surprisin' ya again until you suddenly started staring around like someone was followin' ya."

"Hmm." was Apollo's only initial reply. When Datz simply stood there waiting for him to go on, he did so. "I was just thinking to myself. Lost track of how long I was walking for."

"Oh, yeah?" Datz replied. To Apollo's slight disbelief, he somehow produced yet another apple from some unidentified location - this one pre-peeled - and bit into it. "What's on your mind?"

Apollo shrugged, not exactly wanting to dredge up the source of his thoughts. "I talked to my friends back home on my laptop earlier. I was just thinking about some of what they said."

"Hmm." Datz imitated Apollo's noncommittal replay perfectly. "Those 'friends' include the redhead little miss? Athena?"

"Yeah." Apollo answered. "It was great to talk to everyone again."

"I can believe that. She's doin' OK? PW, too?"

Apollo nodded. "They all seem fine. I'm pretty sure they miss me as much as I miss them, though."

Datz, his apple partway to his mouth, hesitated, catching Apollo's eye. Wearing a meaningful expression, he inquired, "And how 'bout you? You made a pretty sudden choice, staying here while they all headed home. You don't really make a point to bring it up, so maybe it's not something you like to talk about, but are you doin' OK? I know you're keepin' busy at your office day in and day out, but I just wanna be sure."

Apollo paused, and gave a sigh. "… Thanks, Datz. Yeah, I'm doing OK. Things are crazy, and it's been a big adjustment setting up here, but I think I'll be fine."

Datz had begun to idly examine what remained of his apple while he listened to Apollo's words, as if trying to decide on the best place for his next bite. He found his mark and bit another chunk from the core.

"Well, that's good to hear. I'll let you go, then. But hey, if you see Yuty tomorrow, tell him I wanna talk to him."

"Sure." Apollo said, turning to leave.

"I thought for sure he'd start to relax once you were settled in, but I guess I was wrong. I just wanna see if I can help him with removing that great big stick he's got lodged up his-"

"Good night, Datz."

* * *

"No." Athena said, catching her breath and feebly raising a hand before her in self-defence. "No more…"

Standing before her, Trucy frowned. "Oh, alright. Y'know, Polly could do this one ten times in a practice before _he_ needed to stop."

Athena flopped over the armrest of the office's couch, leaving Widget to dangle from his chain on her neck. Just like Mr. Wright said, when Apollo was here, he was the one doing most of the "Anything" in the office's list of services. By now she was wondering how on earth he'd managed it all, considering that Trucy's insistence upon having Athena as her replacement magic assistant was running her more ragged than any workout routine she'd ever devised. Was the extra money really worth going through this?

"Well, you'd rather have an exhausted and underachieving assistant than an ambitious and dead one, right…?" Athena inquired.

"OK, OK, I get it." Trucy conceded. She stowed away her Magic Panties and cast her gaze aside, tapping a foot on the floor. "Hmm… I guess it _is_ lunchtime. You wanna go and grab something? I'll buy, since you're working so hard."

This suggestion had the effect of perking Athena up quite quickly. "Deal!" she said brightly. "Where to?"

* * *

"A side of salt _with_ your extra-salted noodles? I thought you were trying to feel _better."_

Athena shook her head dismissively. "You underestimate me, Trucy." she said. The younger girl gave her an odd look for a moment and she amended, "You underestimate me this one specific time, I mean."

The girls departed Eldoon's Noodles and headed in the direction of a set of lunch tables. They'd been talking for much of the walk over to their frequent lunch stop, and shortly before arrival, the conversation had turned to Apollo.

"Wouldn't it be funny if Apollo came home and he'd done something really crazy?" Athena piped up once she dropped onto a seat. "Like-… if he grew a beard or something?"

"Pff…" Trucy scoffed, setting aside her hat on the table. "C'mon, you really think _Polly_ could ever grow a beard? He's almost as baby-faced as Pearly."

"Maybe you're right, but still - what if he _did_ change something big before coming home?"

"He could always take the attention off his forehead by losing those silly horns." Trucy suggested, starting into her own bowl of noodles.

"True. Hey, have you ever seen him with his hair down? It seems like he always gels it up like that, first thing."

Trucy shrugged. "Sort of."

Athena raised an eyebrow, digging into her bowl with the plastic fork she'd picked up after discarding her chopsticks. "How do you 'sort of' that?"

"Daddy pushed him into a lake once."

Athena had only just begun to chew a mouthful of noodles, and she nearly choked. "W-What-?"

Trucy shrugged again. "Well, he _says_ it wasn't on purpose. It was back when we first hired him. We weren't always as nice to him as we are now, y'know."

"Uh huh…" Athena's mind was immediately filled with images of Apollo hunched forward, his face reddening and split with a frown. This was an expression he wore remarkably often when talking with either of the Wrights.

"Anyway, his hair still held onto most of its gel. He must use _so much_ of that stuff - it's no wonder he doesn't ask me to pass on his extra work to you." Trucy went on.

Athena tapped Widget's display and brought up the device's holographic interface. Tapping the screen a few times, she called up an album of photos. Trucy leaned in curiously.

"Hmm…" Athena muttered, stopping at a picture of Apollo. It had been taken during the evening following Trucy's acquittal in her trial months ago. That made it one of the very last photos any of the group had of him from before his departure from the office. Tilting her head to and fro, Athena tried to imagine what Apollo might look like with his hair free of any gel. It was surprisingly difficult. She'd visited with Apollo at all manner of times of day outside of work, but she couldn't think of a single time he'd ever been without his favourite hairstyle. "You'd practically have to see him the second he got out of bed…" she muttered, placing a thumb over the pair of gelled horns to try and help her imagination.

"Uh-…"

Athena glanced over at Trucy. The girl had just uttered a noise of surprise, like something had caught her off-guard. "What?" she asked.

Trucy pointed toward Athena's necklace. "It's Widget." she said. "He just… Well, it was only for a second there, while you were talking, but…"

"What?" Athena asked again, wondering what Trucy could possibly be so interested in.

"Does he normally turn that colour? I don't remember ever seeing it." Trucy asked in place of an answer.

"What colour?" By now, Athena was getting quite curious herself. She lifted Widget from his place against her chest, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"He was all pink." Trucy answered. "Just for a split second, though."

"Pink?" Athena parroted, only becoming more curious. "Widget doesn't turn pink. He's only got those four basic emotion colours and the normal blue."

"I swear he did." Trucy promised. "He _must_ be able to."

Athena switched off Widget's interface and detached the device from her neck to examine it.

"I've never seen him turn any colour other than the normal ones." she said, poking at the display. "Was there anything else weird?"

Trucy shook her head. "No. He just flashed all pink for a second. Right when you-…"

Athena continued to examine Widget, but paused to look up at her friend when Trucy broke off. "… When what?" she probed. Trucy's dramatic pauses were getting irritating.

"I-It was right when you talked about Apollo." Trucy answered. "You mentioned the moment he got out of bed in the morning."

Athena was about to reply when Trucy's look of curiosity suddenly turned to a smirk. "W-What?"

"Oh, I see how it is, Athena." the magician said, suddenly sounding very pleased with herself. "You were thinking about how Polly would look first thing in the morning, huh? _Riiight_ as he was crawling out of bed?"

"H-Hey!" Athena sputtered. "What're you implying!?"

Trucy kept up her devilish smirk and replied, "I bet you'd just _love_ to see Polly like that. All rugged and unkempt?"

Athena met her eye with a look of disbelief. "… We're talking about the same Apollo, right? I doubt I'd ever call him either of those adjectives."

"I'm just telling you what I see, Athena." Trucy said, undeterred. "You got right to that exact part, and then Widget starting turning pink. I think I see what's going on."

Athena frowned, bracing her palms on the tabletop. "I don't think I like your attitude right now, Trucy." she said, hoping she didn't betray any further signs of embarrassment. Trucy's eyes weren't quite as sharp as Apollo's, were they?

To her frustration, Trucy's teasing expression didn't budge. "Aww, don't be upset, Athena. I promise I won't tell him."

"Tell who _what,_ exactly?" Athena demanded, her frown intensifying.

Trucy opted to ignore her question. "So, what's the turn-off? His silly horns?"

Athena stared her down for a few seconds longer, but Trucy appeared quite unwilling to change her tune.

"… This conversation's over, Trucy."

* * *

 _I shouldn't try and keep schedule promises_


	4. That Which Went Unexpected

Damn Trucy. Damn her and her smug little face.

Athena had been in a much brighter mood after talking with Apollo, but from lunchtime onward, that had become quite impossible.

She felt like getting mad, but if she was honest with herself, she didn't even know _who_ to be angry with in the first place. There was Trucy and her teasing, of course, but whenever she thought about that, arguments sprung up in her head instantly.

Apollo's forehead had to be every bit as thick as it was large. The better part of two years had gone by since he met Juniper Woods, and it appeared that he still didn't have the faintest idea of the positively massive crush the girl had on him. Athena tried to refocus her annoyance onto him, but that only caused another argument to pop up.

(Am _I_ the oblivious one now?)

Athena was curled up on her favourite beanbag chair in her apartment, her knees tucked to her chest and a bowl of dry cereal in her hands. The TV was on, but she wasn't really watching it. Widget was resting on the floor next to her. One cheerfully voiced thought too many had driven her to tug the device off her neck for a while. She frowned at the little sphere, the display of which had switched into its sleep mode when it was detached from around her neck.

Why would Widget do anything like what Trucy said he did? Athena's thoughts were occupied with all of her friends practically all the time. Why should that one instance have been any different?

Sure, she missed Apollo terribly, and _sure,_ she considered him one of her best friends, second only to Juniper. But that was it, wasn't it? She wasn't some fawning high-schooler, stealing glances at her classroom crush from behind a textbook. She was an independent adult with a stable job and two full university degrees at _nineteen._ She wasn't one to brag, but Athena privately considered herself an exemplary young woman in numerous ways.

So, that in mind, why was it that when she sat here and closed her eyes, regardless of what was on her mind, the first image to pop up in her head was that of Apollo, facing her down with a wide grin on his face?

(I guess I'll just keep my eyes wide open for the rest of my life, then. Can't be too hard.)

Her cereal bowl was almost empty. She set it aside and grabbed the TV remote, switching off the distant noise that she'd been largely ignoring. She had an idea. Scooping Widget back up from the floor, she clamped his chain back into place and tapped the display. The holographic interface lit up the dim room, and Athena brought up the same video chat program she'd spoken to Apollo on that morning. Running the numbers in her head, she reasoned that now would be an acceptable time to call him again. Unless he was in the habit of sleeping in despite having his own law office to run, she was confident she'd get a reply.

She just needed one good talk with him, one-on-one. It would probably only take a few minutes. She could say her piece without Trucy's intervention, and they could share a good laugh about it before she signed off to go to bed.

It took a few seconds, but the swirling icon in the centre of the screen finally vanished as the webcam feed on Apollo's end of the call appeared.

"Hey." he said, sounding pleasantly surprised by her call.

Athena opened her mouth to respond, only to feel her throat constrict. She coughed, and her red hair spilled over her face, having been let down after she got home.

"Uh-… You OK there?" Apollo asked with a chuckle as she brushed her hair back out of her view.

"… Yeah, all good here." she said. Once she'd tamed her unruly locks, she looked at the screen again. There hadn't been time for her to properly look at the chat window a moment ago, but now, as she did, she felt herself freeze up again. "A-Apollo-…" she uttered, taken aback. "Y-Your hair…!"

"Heh… Yeah, it's surprisingly hard to find gel consistently out here." Apollo replied, brushing his hand through his hair.

His _dry_ hair.

It was embarrassing, but Athena almost didn't recognize the young man on her screen. Apollo didn't appear to have so much as a drop of gel in his hair. His face was as familiar as ever, but above it, a mop of brown hair he'd apparently seen only marginal success in combing straight was the only thing Athena could focus on.

"B-But…" she sputtered, hardly believing what she was seeing. "I-It's _fluffy-!"_

"… Gee, thanks." Apollo deadpanned, frowning. "I _was_ wondering if your brain was still jumping right to 'fluffy rabbit' for describing me, so it's nice of you to keep me posted."

Athena tried to speak again, but forced herself to take a proper breath first. She tore her eyes from the distracting uppermost portion of the camera frame and focused on Apollo's face instead. "U-uhh… So, anyway, I called you."

"… Yes." Apollo replied after a moment, when she'd stalled for too long. "Yes, I noticed."

"Y-yeah. Umm… I wanted to talk."

"Gathered as much."

What was wrong with her brain right now? Athena sat frozen, trying and failing to force herself into a normal frame of mind.

"OK." she said, mentally preparing a sentence and running through it in advance. "So... I had a pretty nice day at work. Trucy's still sure she can turn me into Gramarye assistant material, but I'm not really convinced."

Apollo laughed, and Athena felt a surge of relief.

"So, you can keep up 'psychologist' and 'lawyer' at the same time, but throwing in 'magician's lovely assistant' is too much?"

"Oh my _God,"_ Athena groaned, hanging her head and causing her long hair to sweep down over her face again, "How did you _do_ all this stuff, Apollo…?"

Apollo laughed again. "Hey, if I made it look easy, then I should probably tell you - I was faking."

Athena huffed, pushing her hair away from her face once more. Once she finished, Apollo spoke up again.

"Now," he began, "Call me crazy, but I doubt that you called just to tell me about your day at work. My hearing's not as crazy-good as yours, but I think I can tell when you're holding something back from me."

Athena had to prevent herself laughing. (Trying saying that to poor Junie, smart guy…)

"Yeah." she said, glancing off toward the wall. "There's something else."

"Knew it." Apollo said, grinning. "OK, I've got time. Let's hear it."

Athena had to wonder whether or not Apollo would still be grinning once he heard her answer.

"So, I was talking to Trucy at lunch, and she…" Athena realized as she trailed off that this angle wasn't going to work. She sighed. "How do I explain this…? We talked about you, and-… actually, it's funny - we started talking about your hair, and Trucy said something… Widget was-… well, uhh…"

She was quickly beginning to regret calling Apollo. Somehow, even though she knew everything she wanted to say, her words were coming out as a fumbling mess. She realized after a few seconds of silence that Apollo was just staring at her blankly.

"Uh, Athena, if you're hoping I'll bail you out on this one, I'm sorry - I've got no idea what you're talking about."

Athena just closed her eyes, letting out a long, slow exhale through her nose. So, the comfortable method had failed. That left a much less gentle delivery as her only fallback plan.

" _Trucy,"_ she said, her eyes still closed as she forced her voice to be firm, "Seems to think I have a crush on you."

On any other day, Athena would've loved to get a look at Apollo's face as he made a strange sound somewhere between a large bird shrieking and a mouse being attacked by such a bird. Instead, she just reopened her eyes to see him staring back at her in plain shock, his face having lost its colour in less than a second.

"… Can I ask what brought that on?" he inquired, sounding as if he just wanted something to ease his shock.

"Just… something stupid Widget did while we were talking." Athena answered, feeling unable to look directly at Apollo again. Suddenly her apartment wall was looking much more interesting than normal. "I don't know why _this_ little jerk decided to give Trucy a bunch of extra ammo out of nowhere, but it's been bugging me ever since, so I needed to talk to you about it before I go crazy."

She was relieved to see Apollo smile. "Well, if that's what you need, Athena, I'm there. I owe you that much." he said.

"Oh?" Athena replied, finally feeling confident enough to talk with him properly again. "That's all?"

"OK, so maybe I also owe you for a _few_ other things," he admitted, "But that's not why we're talking, is it?"

"Maybe not, but if you keep running a bigger and bigger tab, I'm gonna have to put my foot down."

The pair laughed together this time. Even over a somewhat scratchy webcam microphone, the cheerful intonation of Apollo's laughter came through clearly, which helped even more to relieve Athena's discomfort.

"I guess you were happy to get out of the office and away from Trucy, then?" Apollo asked once he found a break to speak.

"Oh, you know it." Athena replied. "I'd bet you anything she'll be right back on her game as soon as I'm back in the door, so I'll take anything I can get."

"In that case, anything else rolling around in your head you'd like to get out?" Apollo inquired. "While you've got me here?"

Athena smirked. "You have no idea. Maybe I should just say… well, you remember what we talked about earlier. Sometimes I wish you guys could hear each other as well as I do. I know we tease you all the time, Apollo, but the office just isn't going to be the same 'til you're back."

"Yeah…" Apollo said, _"I_ wish I could have you guys around, too. It'd help a lot."

"Hey, maybe we'll get some bigshot client who can pay us enough to fund an office vacation to Khura'in!" Athena suggested. She didn't really want to risk this conversation taking a turn into sadness.

"C'mon, Athena - how often do we get clients who pay Mr. Wright _at all?"_

Athena smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "OK, you've got a point. Still, I can hope, can't I? There's no way Mr. Wright or Trucy would ever say 'no' if we _did_ get the money for it. They tease you even more than I do, but-… they love you, Apollo. I hope you know that. And-… OK - looking at where this conversation started, it's gonna sound counterproductive for me to say this, but _I_ love you, too."

Apollo's combination blush-and-smile in response could've made anyone in the world break out in a grin to match, Athena was sure. Yet, even as she watched Apollo try to formulate a reply, she had a strange feeling building up in her chest. Her words had come out perfectly naturally, like they'd always been what she had in mind.

(There, that wasn't so hard. You love Apollo, just like you love everyone else at the office. Even Charley!)

… Why didn't she feel convinced? She repeated the thought over a few times.

(You love Apollo, just like you love everyone else at the office. You love Apollo, _just like-_ …)

This… wasn't working.

"… Athena? Are you… OK? You look like you just developed a sunburn in under ten seconds."

(Oh God, I'm _blushing_ _…_ stupid Apollo.)

Priding herself on being very in-tune with emotions, Athena was hardly unfamiliar with the feelings twisting around inside her at the moment. That said, she was not especially happy to be experiencing them. She'd worked with Apollo for a short while longer than a year prior to his departure for Khura'in, and considered him one of her closest friends, to be sure. So, that in mind, _why_ was she just now finding herself sitting here and blushing at the sight of him like the hormone-riddled high-schoolers she got so tired of seeing in movies and TV shows?

" _Be less cute!"_

Athena's train of thought ground to a halt instantly. Half of her wanted to clamp a hand over Widget's casing and crush the little speakers that had allowed those words to be heard, and the rest just wanted to bury her face in her hands.

She opted to go through with the latter option. It was a few more seconds spent wallowing in embarrassment before Apollo's voice brought her back.

"Umm… hey, Athena? If you're alright, can we talk about something?"

When Athena replied, her voice was a low growl creeping out from between her clenched fingers.

" _Sure, Apollo. Whatever's on your mind, I'd_ _ **love**_ _to hear about it."_

On the word "love", she'd reflexively tightened her already-tense palms over her own face, and she shuddered a bit at the feeling of her fingertips digging into her forehead. If she left any marks, they'd be covered up by her bangs, at least.

* * *

Apollo felt uncomfortable for himself, watching as Athena squirmed in her seat. This wasn't the way he'd thought his day would begin. He gave the redhead a moment to compose herself before he spoke up.

"So, uhh… w-we're friends, right?"

Athena's shoulders slumped. Still not showing her face to the camera, she replied, _"Yes, that's right."_ in the same low voice as before.

"R-right, sorry… stupid question." Apollo muttered, shaking his head. "What I mean is-…" He tried to continue the sentence from there, but it quietly died partway out of his mouth. He sighed. How was he supposed to go about this? He was terribly afraid he'd overstep his bounds. "Since we talked yesterday, I've been thinking - and believe me; there's so much going on here that I don't get a lot of time to just sit down and _think._ It feels like talking to you guys really took some of the pressure off. So, _thanks,_ for one, but there's more to it."

Athena was meeting his eye again by now. Apollo felt strange; it seemed as if his words were suddenly coming without effort, though he wasn't sure where all this was originating from at all.

"Some days it feels like I should always be thanking you, Athena." he went on. "True, you don't exactly hesitate to jump in and take Trucy's side when she wants to tease me, but…" He blinked, pausing for a second. "You're the most supportive person I've ever met. Nothing I've ever done has made you think less of me, even once." Apollo found he couldn't stop himself now. As if he was only just now realizing the truth of his words for himself, he continued on. "I keep wishing you were still out here when I'm out on a case, and not just because I know you've got my back when we're working. I just… I just like _being around you."_

To his surprise, Athena, who'd been silent as he spoke, smirked. "Congratulations, Apollo."

Confused, Apollo asked, "About what…?"

"You've figured out what 'friend' means." Athena jibed, looking like she wanted to laugh.

"Heh… maybe you're right." Apollo replied, smiling for himself and running a hand over the back of his neck. "I'm not really getting all these thoughts out quite right. Mind if I give it one more shot?"

"Sure, I've got time." Athena answered.

"Great." Apollo said. He took a moment to compose himself once again. "I'm kinda just putting the pieces together for myself now." he admitted. "There's that saying; something about not knowing what you have until it's gone. That's pretty much been me since you guys headed home. Flying blind has been working out so far, so I'm just hoping I don't screw anything up too badly."

"Aw, c'mon." Athena replied. "You'll be fine, Apollo. You always are. Besides, you've gotta be one of Khura'in's top celebrities right now, haven't you? People will give you _loads_ of slack."

"I sure hope so. Honouring Dhurke's legacy is gonna be pretty hard if I get chased out of the country."

Athena laughed. "Yeah, I doubt you'll mess up that badly. But, hey - if you ever did, you could always just come back home to us. We're not gonna turn you away."

"Good to hear." Apollo said. Athena was proving his point quite effortlessly. He glanced away from his laptop and out the office window. "So, I should probably sign off and get back to work." he said. "Thanks again, Athena. For being my best friend. I mean it - I can't tell you how good it feels to have someone like you I can talk to."

Athena grinned. "Hey, take it easy, Apollo. You'll make a girl blush, throwing around that kind of praise."

"Well, you deserve-…" Apollo faltered. He was about to finish up their conversation when something caught his notice. "Uhh…" he uttered, drawing Athena's notice.

"What…?" she asked. "Something wrong?"

"Umm, well, when you said that…" Apollo muttered, gesturing toward the bottom of the frame. "Widget was… I could've sworn he changed colour for a second."

Speaking of colour, Athena's face drained of it almost instantly.

"Wait, wait…" she said, clamping a hand over the device around her neck, which was glowing a shade of green. "You mean he was just green, like this, right?"

"Uhh…" Apollo scratched at the back of his neck again. He couldn't actually see Widget with Athena's hand blocking out the device's display. "W-well, it was only for half a second, but… it looked more like pink or something to me. Does that mean something…?"

He wasn't certain if Athena heard his last few words. As he'd been speaking, she'd emitted a frustrated noise and buried her face in her free hand.

"… Athena?"

He heard her mumbling something under her breath. It didn't sound like English, and based on the amount of venom he could hear from her tone, it probably wasn't especially polite, either.

Athena ended her grumblings by sighing loudly. After a moment or two, she asked, "Hey, Apollo?"

"Yeah…?"

"You remember what I said about Trucy?"

Apollo nodded. "She thinks you have a crush on me, right?"

Athena, her face hidden from view, nodded. She didn't say anything. Apollo waited for a response.

It took several seconds for him to start picking up on the reason for her silence.

"W-wait, are you… A-Athena, d'you mean she's _right_ _…_ _?"_

Athena growled another string of unintelligible words under her breath.

"Uhh…" Apollo tried to speak up again, but for the first time in this conversation, words failed him. "… That's kinda new. I… I wouldn't have guessed."

" _Neither would I."_ Athena grumbled. "I can pick out what _other people_ are feeling in _two seconds_ _…"_

"So your hyper-hearing doesn't work for yourself, huh?" Apollo inquired. He was trying to make the most casual conversation he could out of this discovery, but it was surprisingly hard to do so. Truthfully, he just didn't know what to say about the subject.

Athena was interested in him? When had that started? And why hadn't he noticed anything?

Still trying to play it off somehow, he spoke up again. "Well, I already told you that you're my best friend. Can't be that hard to go up one more step, can it…?"

His effort failed quite spectacularly. Rather than doing anything to indicate that her embarrassment was subsiding, Athena's entire face simply disappeared into a deep blush.

" _Shut up already, you stupid, adorable jerk!"_

Now it was Apollo's turn to blush, hearing Widget's synthesized voice blurting that out. It wasn't a conscious effort, but he found himself following the instruction for several seconds.

This seemed to confirm his theory. He genuinely didn't know how best to respond. Was there an accepted etiquette one was meant to follow when making a discovery such as this?

(C'mon, say something useful already, Justice…)

"I-… uhh… wow."

Silence.

(Oh, dear God, Justice, why don't you just punch _yourself_ in the face, since Athena can't reach far enough to do it.)

He pushed the screen of his laptop downward partway to obscure his face. Dragging a hand through his ruffled hair and over his face for a moment, he thought things through. He had to clamp his mouth shut to contain a relieved sigh when Athena's voice sounded from the speakers again.

"Apollo?" she inquired softly. The frustration plain in her voice before was gone. Apollo reopened the laptop to find the redhead looking straight at him.

"Yeah?" he replied, his voice a bit breathless.

"Do you… I mean, if you're comfortable with it, do you want to try… ugh, God, I'm awful at this…"

It was strangely reassuring to hear Athena sounding as uncomfortable as he felt.

… Was that mean to say?

"Just… do you want to go-…" Athena's words broke off one more time. She sighed, sounding more annoyed with herself than anything else. "Do you want to try dating…? Y-y'know, just to see if it could work?"

Athena's ocean-blue eyes couldn't quite meet his on account of Apollo's need to choose between looking at the screen or the webcam, but he did the best he could.

"Y-yeah-…" He coughed, clearing his throat. "Yeah. I'd like that."

Even getting the words out, he felt like he'd screwed up. Sure, he'd never really imagined that conversations like this would ever be as graceful or perfect as fiction would lead one to believe, but surely he could do better than this, right…? He was barely finishing a sentence.

Athena looked nervous. "I mean - it's probably not a good idea to try too hard right now, since we're so far apart; long-distance relationships and all, b-but I-…" Another sigh, "You're just a really great guy, Apollo. I'm feeling kinda stupid right now for only just figuring that out in full."

"Hey," Apollo replied, managing a grin, "You're talking to the guy who only just worked out the definition of the word 'friend'. You've got plenty of leeway to work with."

Athena laughed, and the awkward tension in their conversation seemed to lessen instantly. Apollo let her finish before speaking again. "Look - I know you, Athena. I said you're my best friend, and I really meant it. If you feel like you're ready for-… y'know, for us to take a step like that, then I'm sure you know what you're doing."

Athena raised an eyebrow. "You're sounding _incredibly_ romantic over there, Apollo." she said dryly. "Pardon me if I swoon."

"Hey, I know as little as you do." Apollo responded, making sure to include a subtly challenging tone in his voice. He knew exactly how Athena would respond when he spoke that way. "Maybe we're just not the sweep-you-off-your-feet type."

Athena smirked. "You sure you want me to quote you on that? You just might find yourself pretty surprised when you come home."

"Oh?" Apollo replied, not about to cave in to Athena's lower caliber of teasing. "I guess we'll both have to see who's really up to the challenge when that day comes."

* * *

Athena's conversation with Apollo had gone down a very different path than she'd initially intended before she could stop it. Yet somehow, when at last they said their goodbyes, she didn't feel the slightest bit bothered.

So, was this what was meant to come next in her friendship with Apollo? Working out her own feelings had proven surprisingly difficult compared to analyzing those of others. Maybe she really did care for him that way. Throwing around words like "cute" or even "adorable" in moments of weakness certainly seemed to suggest the possibility. At the very least, they made it much harder to disprove.

She stood up and paced across the room to the small window. Sometimes she liked to gaze out at the city from here. It wasn't an impressive view; most of the space opposite her window was taken up by neighbouring buildings, but she liked it all the same. It helped her to think. If she and Apollo were really ready to do this, it was definitely going to be a tough journey. The closest contact they had right now was through two computer screens, and there was still no telling how long that limitation would last.

Weighing the pros and cons of admitting to Trucy that this conversation had ever happened would take her some time, too. Still, whatever she chose, she couldn't deny the wonderful feeling that bubbled up inside her, knowing that she had Apollo to support her. Returning the favour was something she had plenty of practice in doing.

And, of course, there was Juniper. She was stronger than some gave her credit for, but Athena worried about how her best friend might react to learning that her crush might just be taken. That was looking like a _delightful_ conversation ahead.

* * *

Apollo was looking at his day differently than he'd been before Athena called, that was for certain.

A relationship with Athena was, if he was honest with himself, just not something he'd ever considered seriously. She was the best sort of friend he could ask for, and he cared about her as much as he believed he could, but was the truth that those feelings went further than just friendship? He supposed they could find out together when the time came.

Maybe they could drop some subtle hints with Mr. Wright about the possibility of an office trip to see him in Khura'in some time sooner than imagined.

* * *

 _Goodness, I surprise myself with my inability to balance time for writing with other, less enjoyable things._

 _Least it's here! Leave a review, if you feel so inclined._


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